In the Netherlands, state actors and housing associations ambitiously pursue a project of state-led gentrification in disadvantaged neighbourhoods. The state induces housing associations and seduces private developers to invest in the construction of middleclass, owner-occupied housing in disadvantaged urban neighbourhoods with many low-cost social rented dwellings. Researchers refer to this form of government intervention as`urban restructuring' (Kleinhans, 2003; MVROM, 1997;2000;van Kempen and Priemus, 1999). Even though Dutch housing policy is subject to constant revision, it is clear that, over the next two decades, hundreds of neighbourhoods will experience such restructuring. First of all, this means that the share of social rented housing in the neighbourhoods designated for restructuring will decline from around 62% in the year 2000 to 45% in the year 2010. National and local state agencies, together with housing associations, are responsible for urban restructuring that aims to improve the economic appeal as well as the`liveability' of designated neighbourhoods (see Tunstall, 2003). In the discourse about this policy, a`liveable neighbourhood' refers to à balanced' neighbourhood with a low level of crime and a sizeable share of middleclass households. It does not refer to a neighbourhood where government agencies develop policies to ameliorate the social conditions of the most disadvantaged groups.Restructuring policy attempts to promote gentrification in even the most disadvantaged and peripheral boroughs of Dutch cities. As we will show, however, conventional explanations of gentrification do not fully explain the scope, scale, and form of the processes involved. In the absence of profit motives or significant consumer demand, why do Dutch state actors and housing associations promote gentrification? Our response will focus on the institutional networks that promote it and on the discourse

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This literature review has focused on smart governance as an emerging domain of study that attracts significant scientific and policy attention. More specifically, this paper aims to provide more insight in the definitions of and relationships between smart governance and concepts such as smart and electronic government, in the context of smart cities. The literature review shows that smart government can be considered as a basis for developing smart governance, through the application of emergent information and communication technologies (ICT) for governing. Smart governance as the intelligent use of ICT to improve decision-making through better collaboration among different stakeholders, including government and citizens, can be strongly related to government approaches. In this case ICT-based tools, such as social media, and openness can be factors that increase citizen engagement and support the development of new governance models for smart government. Smart governance may also have an important role in smart city initiatives, which require complex interactions between governments, citizens and other stakeholders. Based on the literature review, this paper coins a definition of 'smart city governance' and contributes to developing a framework for building new, smart governance models addressing the challenges of the digital society, collaborative governance, information sharing, citizen engagement, transparency and openness.

A renewed interest has appeared in citizen co-production of public services due to financial pressure on governments. While social media are considered an important facilitator, many digital participatory platforms (DPPs) have been developed to facilitate co-production between citizens and governments in the context of urban development. Previous studies have delivered a fragmented overview of DPPs in a few socio-spatial contexts and failed to take stock of the rise of DPPs. This article aims to provide a more comprehensive picture of the availability and functionalities of DPPs. Through a systematic review, 113 active DPPs have been identified, analysed, and classified within a citizen-government relationship typology. Almost a quarter of these DPPs demonstrate a realistic potential for online and offline co-production between governments and citizens. The article critically analyses the characteristics of these DPPs and explores their real-world applications in urban development. The article concludes with directions for further research.

In the major Dutch cities, social rented housing in post-war neighbourhoods has been demolished and largely replaced by more expensive owner-occupied and rental housing. Through residential mobility, these measures can trigger substantial population changes. This paper studies residents' social capital in two recently restructured neighbourhoods in the city of Rotterdam. It distinguishes between the stayers, movers and newcomers. In a neighbourhood context, social capital refers to the benefit of cursory interactions, shared norms, trust and collective action of residents. Survey data show that social capital is not only an asset of long-term stayers, but that in particular newcomers are relatively rich in social capital. Factors associated with higher levels of social capital are a higher net income, presence of households with children, stronger place attachment, higher perceived neighbourhood quality, homeownership and single-family dwellings. The expected future length of residence in the area appears of little importance for social capital.